6.  The applicants are:
1) Ms Nebist Khalitova, born in 1959;
2) Ms Zarema Almurzayeva, born in 1971;
3) Ms Zalina Chapayeva, born in 1982; and
4) Mr Maulat Achkhanov, born in 1929.
The first applicant lives in the village of Raduzhnoe. The second, third and fourth applicants live in the village of Pobedinskoe. The two villages are located a short distance one from another in the Groznenskiy District of the Chechen Republic.
7.  The first applicant is the wife of Mr Ali Uspayev and the mother of Mr Amir Magomedov. The second applicant is the sister of Mr Aslan Dokayev. Aslan Dokayev was married to the third applicant. The fourth applicant is the father of Mr Rustam Achkhanov.
8.  On the night of 18 July 2001 the first applicant, her son and husband were sleeping in their house in Raduzhnoe. At about 5 a.m. around thirty unidentified armed men wearing camouflage uniforms broke into it. The men did not identify themselves. They had Slavic features and spoke Russian without an accent.
9.  The first applicant looked out of the window and saw the armed men dragging Amir Magomedov, who had his legs in a plaster cast because of a previous trauma, to the gates. Ali Uspayev was lying on the ground in the courtyard with his arms handcuffed behind his back. Then one of the armed men hit the first applicant with a rifle butt and she lost consciousness. Having recovered a few minutes later, she saw that everyone had left the house.
10.  According to her neighbours who witnessed the events, the armed men loaded Amir Magomedov and Ali Uspayev into one of two armoured personnel carriers (“APCs”) parked next to the first applicant’s house and drove away. Outside the village the two vehicles were joined by two more APCs.
(b)  Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov
11. On the morning of 18 July 2001 Rustam Achkhanov was driving his VAZ 2106 car. He was accompanied by his acquaintance, Aslan Dokayev.
12.  At about 6 a.m., when they reached the village of Raduzhnoe, unidentified armed men in four APCs without registration numbers opened fire in the direction of the VAZ 2106 car. Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov got out of the car and started running. The armed men continued shooting, wounded Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov and loaded them into one of the APCs. Then they took the music player and some other valuable items from the VAZ 2106 car, poured petrol over it and then set it on fire. The car blew up. The four APCs drove away.
13.  The second, third and fourth applicants did not see their relatives being taken away and obtained the description of the events from inhabitants of Raduzhnoe.
14.  On 18 July 2001 units of the federal troops and the Internal Troops of the Russian Ministry of the Interior carried out a special operation in the village of Pobedinskoe with a view to arresting members of illegal armed groups and prosecuting them in accordance with the law in force. The servicemen of the Internal Troops had a right to carry and use arms when ensuring peace and order. Residents of the Chechen Republic were advised by officials to abstain from using cars or other vehicles at night because of the unlawful activities of illegal armed groups and the counter-attacks of federal troops.
15.  At about 5 a.m. on 18 July 2001 Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov were travelling in a VAZ 2106 car in the direction of the village of Pobedinskoe. At some point near the bridge on the Alkhanchurskiy canal servicemen participating in the counter-terrorism campaign flagged down the VAZ 2106 car. The servicemen intended to check the identities of those travelling in the car. Rustam Achkhanov stopped the car within seventy metres of the servicemen; Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov left the car and started running. The servicemen fired warning shots in the air. The two men ignored the shots and continued running in the direction of civilians’ houses in the village of Raduzhnoe. Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov escaped the scene and their whereabouts were not established. The servicemen examined the VAZ 2106 car and the surrounding area. They found a RPG-26 hand-held grenade launcher («ручной гранатомет РПГ-26 «Муха»») lying next to the car and two shells for a RPG-7 hand-held grenade launcher («ручной гранатомет РПГ-7») in the car boot.
16.  At about 5 a.m. on 18 July 2001 unidentified persons in camouflage uniforms abducted Amir Magomedov and Ali Uspayev in the village of Raduzhnoe. The whereabouts of the two men were not established.
17.  On 18 July 2001, shortly after Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov were taken away, the second applicant discovered that Amir Magomedov and Ali Uspayev had been abducted as well. She was also told that the four APCs had headed to Solenaya Balka area where the 21st brigade of the Russian federal troops (“the Sophrino brigade”) was stationed. The second applicant immediately communicated that information to the military commander’s office of the Groznenskiy District, the Groznenskiy district department of the interior and the prosecutor’s office of the Groznenskiy District (“the district prosecutor’s office”). Some officials visited the headquarters of the Sophrino brigade and were informed that its officers had not been implicated in the abductions.
18.  On 18 July 2001 officials from a prosecutor’s office visited the first applicant and questioned her about the circumstances of the abduction of her son and husband.
19.  After 18 July 2001 the applicants repeatedly contacted various official bodies, both in person and in writing. In particular, they applied to prosecutors’ offices at different levels, the Administration of the Chechen Republic, the Russian State Duma and the Special Envoy of the Russian President in Chechnya for Rights and Freedoms. The applicants retained copies of some of these complaints and submitted them to the Court. The official bodies forwarded the majority of the complaints to the various prosecutors’ offices for investigation.
20.  On 18 July 2001 the district prosecutor’s office instituted an investigation into the murder of Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov under Article 105 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated murder). The case file was given the number 19109.
21.  On 20 July 2001 the investigation file in case no. 19109 was forwarded to the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102 (“the unit prosecutor’s office”). It appears that the case was then assigned the number 14/33/0405-01.
22.  On 1 August 2001 the second applicant wrote to the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic describing in detail the circumstances of the abduction of Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov and asking for help in establishing their whereabouts.
23.  On 2 August 2001 the unit prosecutor’s office summoned the second applicant for an interview.
24.  On 13 August 2001 the unit prosecutor’s office transferred the investigation file in case no. 14/33/0405-01 to the military prosecutor’s office of the North Caucasian Circuit (“the circuit prosecutor’s office”).
25.  On 16 August 2001 the unit prosecutor’s office sent a request to the temporary department of the interior of the Staropromyslovskiy District (“the VOVD”), which stated that on 18 July 2001 a group of servicemen commanded by an officer of the Federal Security Service (“the FSB”) had shot Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov during an attempt to escape arrest and that their corpses had been transported by the APCs. The VOVD was instructed to verify whether the bodies of Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov were among any unidentified corpses.
26.  On 29 November 2001 the district prosecutor’s office forwarded the second and fourth applicants’ complaints to the unit prosecutor’s office.
27.  On 30 November 2001 the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic forwarded the fourth applicant’s complaint to the district prosecutor’s office.
28.  On 14 December 2001 the unit prosecutor’s office forwarded the fourth applicant’s letter to the circuit prosecutor’s office to be included in the investigation file in case no. 14/33/0405-01.
29.  On 18 June 2002 the circuit prosecutor’s office suspended the investigation in case no. 14/00/0019-01 for failure to identify the perpetrators.
30.  On 13 November 2002 the second applicant complained to the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic that there had been no progress in the investigation in case no. 14/33/0405-01 and asked for assistance in establishing her brother’s whereabouts.
31.  On 17 July 2003 the district prosecutor’s office issued the third applicant with a progress report on case no. 19109 which stated that the investigation had been opened on 18 July 2001 and that on 20 July 2001 the investigation file had been transferred to the unit prosecutor’s office.
32.  On 18 September 2003 the unit prosecutor’s office informed the third applicant that the investigation file in case no. 14/33/0405-01 had been transferred to the circuit prosecutor’s office on 13 August 2001.
33.  On 10 November 2003 the second applicant requested the circuit prosecutor’s office to update her on progress in the investigation in case no. 14/33/0405-01 and to send her a copy of the latest decision.
34.  On 7 February 2004 the second applicant again wrote to the circuit prosecutor’s office repeating her request of 10 November 2003.
35.  On 5 March 2004 the circuit prosecutor’s office forwarded the second applicant’s complaint to the military prosecutor’s office of the United Group Alignment (“the UGA prosecutor’s office”) and invited the second applicant to send any further queries to the UGA prosecutor’s office or the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic.
36.  On 8 March 2004 the UGA prosecutor’s office forwarded the second applicant’s letter to the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic and mentioned that the investigation file in case no. 34/33/0405-01 had been transferred to the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic on 19 February 2003. A copy of the letter was sent to the second applicant.
37.  On 26 March 2004 the UGA prosecutor’s office forwarded the fourth applicant’s complaint to the unit prosecutor’s office.
38.  On 26 April 2004 the unit prosecutor’s office informed the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic that an inquiry had not established that federal servicemen were implicated in the kidnapping of Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov, and forwarded the results of the inquiry.
39.  On 27 April 2004 the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic forwarded the second applicant’s complaint to the district prosecutor’s office.
40.  On 1 June 2004 the second and fourth applicants requested the district prosecutor’s office to inform them of progress in case no. 34/33/0405-01 and to grant them victim status.
41.  On an unspecified date in June 2004 the first, second and fourth applicants visited the district prosecutor’s office and were served with a copy of the decision to suspend the investigation of 18 June 2002.
42.  On 7 July 2004 the unit prosecutor’s office informed the fourth applicant that the investigation file in case no. 19109 had been forwarded to the circuit prosecutor’s office.
43.  In a letter of 7 September 2004 the unit prosecutor’s office informed the Committee on the Constitutional Rights of Nationals of the Chechen Republic and the fourth applicant that the inquiry had established that federal servicemen had not been involved in the kidnapping of Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov and that the file had been forwarded to the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic.
44.  On 30 September 2004 the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic informed the second applicant that it had instructed the district prosecutor’s office to reinvigorate the investigation, to take requisite measures to solve the crime and to examine the feasibility of the transfer of the file to a military prosecutor’s office. The second applicant was invited to send further queries to the district prosecutor’s office.
45.  On 12 October 2004 the fourth applicant complained to the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office of Russia that there had been no effective investigation into his son’s disappearance.
46.  On 29 October 2004 the second, third and fourth applicants requested the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic to inform them which prosecutor’s office was in charge of the investigation and to report on its results.
47.  On 9 November 2004 the second, third and fourth applicants complained to the district prosecutor’s office and the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic that they had not been given any information about the investigation into their relatives’ deaths and requested that they be informed immediately of the outcome of the investigation.
48.  On 9 November 2004 the district prosecutor’s office forwarded the investigation file in case no. 19109 into the murder of Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov and the kidnapping of Amir Magomedov and Ali Uspayev to the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic. The cover letter stated that “the investigation [had] established that the crimes had been committed by servicemen of military unit no. 3499”. The prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic was also asked to consider forwarding the file to the UGA prosecutor’s office.
49.  On 31 December 2004 the unit prosecutor’s office informed the first, second and fourth applicants that the investigation in case no. 14/33/04-05 D had been commenced on 18 July 2001 and that the investigation file had been forwarded to the circuit prosecutor’s office on 13 August 2001 and had not been returned to the unit prosecutor’s office.
50.  On 31 March 2005 the fourth applicant wrote to the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office of Russia complaining of the abduction and disappearance of his son and Aslan Dakayev. In reply, on 11 April 2005, he was informed that the complaint had been forwarded to the UGA prosecutor’s office.
51.  It appears that the investigation into the disappearance and death of the applicants’ relatives has not been completed to date.
52.  On 18 July 2001 the district prosecutor’s office instituted a criminal investigation into the murder of Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov under Article 105 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated murder). The case was assigned the number 19109. Later the case file was transferred to the unit prosecutor’s office to verify the hypothesis of the involvement of servicemen of the Internal Troops in the crime and assigned the number 14/33/0405-01.
53.  On 13 August 2001 the case was transferred to the circuit prosecutor’s office and assigned the number 14/00/0019-01.
54.  In February 2003 the case was returned to the district prosecutor’s office under the number 19109 because the involvement of the servicemen of the Internal Troops in the crime had not been proven.
55.  On 3 November 2004 the district prosecutor’s office instituted a criminal investigation into Amir Magomedov and Ali Uspayev’s disappearance following their abduction by unknown persons under Article 126 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated kidnapping). The case was assigned the number 34113 and then joined to case no. 19109.
56.  On 8 November 2004 case no. 19109 was transferred pursuant to the jurisdiction rules to the UGA prosecutor’s office and then accepted for processing by the unit prosecutor’s office under the number 34/33/0405-01. On the same date the investigation was suspended for failure to identify those responsible.
57.  On 19 January 2005 the unit prosecutor’s office quashed the decision of 8 November 2004 and resumed the investigation in case no. 34/33/0405‑01.
58.  The circumstances in which Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov were shot at were uncertain. Witnesses claimed that Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov had either been wounded or killed by servicemen and that their bodies had then been put in the APCs. The servicemen who had been present at the scene of the incident denied the allegations and stated that they had fired warning shots in the air to stop Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov who had been trying to run away.
59.  The APCs used in the special operation were examined in the course of the investigation. No traces of blood were found on them.
60.  The bullets and cartridges found at the scene of the incident had not been fired from the servicemen’s weapons.
61.  The investigation failed to prove the involvement of federal servicemen in the crime or to establish the whereabouts of the missing men. The criminal proceedings related to the disappearance of Amir Magomedov, Ali Uspayev, Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov in case no. 34/33/0405-01 have been pending before a military prosecutor’s office.
62.  Despite specific requests by the Court, the Government did not disclose any documents from the investigation files in cases nos. 19109, 14/00/0019-01 and 34/33/0405-01, except for a copy of the decision of 19 January 2005 by the unit prosecutor’s office. They stated that the investigation was in progress and that disclosure of the documents would be in violation of Article 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure since the files contained information of a military nature and personal data concerning witnesses or other participants in criminal proceedings.
63.  On 7 March 2004 the fourth applicant lodged with the Military Court of the North Caucasus Circuit (“the circuit court”) a complaint concerning the disappearance of Amir Magomedov, Ali Uspayev, Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov and that there had been no effective investigation.
64.  On 15 March 2004 the second applicant lodged a complaint with the circuit court about the disappearance of Amir Magomedov, Ali Uspayev, Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov, also alleging an ineffective investigation,
65.  On 2 April 2004 the circuit court forwarded the fourth applicant’s complaint to the Military Court of the Grozny Garrison (“the Grozny court”) for examination on the merits.
66.  On 6 May 2004 the Grozny court returned the complaint about “the decision of the [circuit] prosecutor’s office to suspend investigation in case no. 14/33/0405-01” to the second applicant for lack of jurisdiction. It explained that the complaint should be lodged with a district court of general jurisdiction.
67.  On 1 June 2004 the Grozny court informed the fourth applicant that a hearing of his complaint would be held on 4 June 2004.
68.  On 4 June 2004 the Grozny court, relying on the rules of territorial jurisdiction, decided to forward the fourth applicant’s complaint to the Military Court of the Rostov-on-Don Garrison (“the Rostov court”).
69.  On 8 July 2004 the Rostov court summoned the fourth applicant to attend a hearing of 9 July 2004 to clarify his claims.
70.  On 2 August 2004 the Rostov court informed the fourth applicant that it had requested the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic to report on the location of the case file and the progress in the investigation.
71.  On 30 July 2004 the first, second and fourth applicants lodged a complaint with the Rostov court that the investigative authorities had taken no action and requested that the decision to suspend the investigation of 18 June 2002 be quashed.
72.  On 8 September 2004 the Rostov court summoned the first, second and fourth applicants to attend a hearing scheduled for 10 September 2004.
73.  On 22 November 2004 the fourth applicant was summoned to attend a hearing of the Rostov court on 24 December 2004. In reply the first, second and fourth applicants agreed to have the case examined in their absence and asked to be informed of the eventual outcome of the hearing.
74.  On 18 May 2004 the Grozny court received a complaint by the fourth applicant dated 15 March 2004 about the decision to suspend the investigation into the kidnapping of his son Rustam Achkhanov. In his complaint the fourth applicant reported the following. On 18 July 2001 the car in which Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov had been riding had been fired at by servicemen in the village of Raduzhnoe. Aslan Dokayev and Rustam Achkhanov had been wounded and taken away to an unknown destination. On the same date servicemen had kidnapped Amir Magomedov and Ali Uspayev.
75.  The Grozny court accepted the complaint, scheduled a hearing for 4 June 2004 and notified the fourth applicant accordingly. The latter failed to attend the hearing. On 4 June 2004 the Grozny court was informed that the investigation was pending before the circuit prosecutor’s office and transferred the fourth applicant’s complaint to the Rostov court pursuant to procedural rules.
76.  On 9 July 2004 the Rostov court accepted the fourth applicant’s complaint for processing. The fourth applicant was notified accordingly and replied that he could not attend a hearing on a particular date.
77.  The Rostov court requested the case file from the circuit prosecutor’s office. It was revealed that on 22 November 2002 the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office had been ordered to transfer the case file to the UGA prosecutor’s office. Following an additional inquiry that had not proven the involvement of servicemen in the kidnappings of 18 July 2001 in the village of Raduzhnoe the case file was transferred to the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic on 19 February 2003. On 27 February 2003 the case file was sent to the district prosecutor’s office. On 25 August 2004 the case was sent to the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic. On 19 November 2004 it was transferred to the UGA prosecutor’s office.
78.  On 30 August 2004 the Rostov court received a complaint by the first, second and fourth applicants challenging the decision of 18 June 2001 to suspend the investigation concerning their missing relatives.
79.  On 19 January 2005 the unit prosecutor’s office informed the Rostov court of the following. On 30 September 2004 the prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic had quashed the decision of 18 June 2002. On 8 November 2004 the district prosecutor’s office had again suspended the proceedings. On 19 January 2005 the unit prosecutor’s office had quashed the decision of 8 November 2004 and resumed the investigation concerning both the presumed killing and the kidnapping of 18 July 2001.
80.  On 20 January 2005 the Rostov court examined the materials before it and dismissed the applicants’ complaint for the reason that the contested decision had already been quashed. On 24 January 2005 the first, second and fourth applicants were sent copies of the Rostov court’s decision.
81.  The decision of 20 January 2005 was not appealed against.